Items related to Mountain Goddess: Gender and Politics in a Himalayan...
Through the cold snows of the Central Himalayas, gods and goddesses are regularly taken on ritual processions from village to village. Nandadevi, one of the most popular goddesses, is worshipped by peasant Hindus in almost every village in the high-altitude districts where India, Nepal, and Tibet meet. This elegant study follows an arduous pilgrimage over the Himalayan ice fields to uncover the reasons for the popularity of this bloodthirsty goddess. Sax discovers that Nandadevi's appeal stems from that fact that her mythology parallels the life-courses of the local peasant women: her ritual procession imitates their annual journey to the village of their birth. Demonstrating that daughters' bonds with their natal homes are so significant that they thematically dominate their religious complex, Sax argues that the Garwhali religious culture actually nurtures the social antagonism that exists between wife-givers and wife-takers throughout North India.
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From the Back Cover:
IN THIS BOOK, WILLIAM S. SAX OFFERS AN ENTHRALLING ACCOUNT OF AN ARDUOUS JOURNEY, FOCUSING ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CULT OF NANDADEVI IN THE LIVES OF LOCAL HINDU WOMEN. SAX SHOWS THAT NANDADEVI'S APPEAL STEMS FROM THE FACT THAT HER MYTHOLOGY PARALLELS THE LIFE-COURSES OF CENTRAL HIMALAYAN PEASANT WOMEN, JUST AS HER RITUAL PROCESSIONS IMITATE THEIR PERIODIC JOURNEYS BETWEEN THEIR NATAL AND MARITAL HOMES.
About the Author:
William S. Sax is at University of Christchurch, New Zealand.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherOxford University Press
- Publication date1991
- ISBN 10 0195064321
- ISBN 13 9780195064322
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages256
- Rating
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